The Bet
by Satan Abraham
Summary: Yoshitoki Kuninobu was going to win that bet. [oneshot] [cute fun and happy no death here folks] [onesided nobu/noriko] [novel/manga!verse]


Yoshitoki Kuninobu was definitely going to win this bet. He was going to win, and then Shuuya Nanahara would have to buy him _as big of an ice cream cone as he wanted. _

The bet was a contest of who could stand on their hands for the longest. Nobu maybe shouldn't have picked an athletic contest against Shuuya, but he had, and now he was standing on his hands with his back to the wall, wondering if he would be able to stand on his own by Wednesday.

Hiroki Sugimura sat crosslegged on the floor in front of him, making sure that he didn't fall over and crack his head open. Sugimura had 'trained' him, as far as training to stand on one's hands went – he was mostly there to spot him. Shinji Mimura was doing the same for Shuuya somewhere else.

"Hey, Sugimura," Nobu said. "What do you think about Noriko Nakagawa?"

Sugimura looked surprised and it took a while for him to answer. "She's nice," he said. Nobu nodded, concentration breaking just long enough for his arms to give out. Sugimura caught him and let him down gently enough so that he wouldn't get a concussion.

"Do you think I'm an idiot if I think I might have a chance?" Nobu asked. "I mean, you're friends with _Takako Chigusa, _so you have to be good with girls, right?"

Sugimura turned bright red. "Not really," he said. "She's… she's different. We've known each other since we were kids. It's not like… I mean, I don't like her like that, so it's easy to talk to her."

"Really? Mimura _swears-_" Nobu saw Sugimura's look and shut up. Mimura wanted everything on two legs, so he maybe wasn't the best source for this sort of stuff. "But do you think I have a chance?"

Sugimura shrugged. "Maybe."

"You're not much help," Nobu said. He stood up and stretched his arms, shaking them a little to try and get rid of the tingling. Sugimura shrugged again, and Nobu headed off to go contemplate his girl problems.

…

By Wednesday, Yoshitoki Kuninobu could stand on his hands without the help of a wall for about thirty seconds, but he figured that Shuuya had probably been goofing off with Mimura the entire time he'd spent 'training,' so he could probably win.

By probably, he meant probably not, because trained or not, Shuuya's arms were stronger than his, and Nobu's main problem was that he just didn't have the arm strength to hold himself up. It wasn't even a balancing problem. Which was kind of lame.

There was a large grassy park that they'd decided on, mostly because it was close to Sugimura and Mimura's homes. It would be the four of them, plus Yutaka Seto and whoever else decided to show up. So, maybe Keita Iijima, but probably nobody else.

Nobu nearly fainted when he saw Nakagawa standing with Takako Chigusa, looking more than a little intimidated. Chigusa wasn't talking. Nakagawa was trying. Sugimura saw him coming and waved him over.

"What's going on?" Nobu hissed.

"I asked Takako to ask her to come," Sugimura said, shifting form foot to foot. "It'd be weird if I did."

"Are they friends?"

Sugimura gave a half-shrug. "She's here, isn't she?"

Mimura and Seto steered Shuuya over, Seto grinning and Mimura smirking. "You ready, Nobu?"

"More ready than you'll ever be," Nobu said, grinning. He was going to lose. He was going to lose so badly.

"Yutaka'll judge, keep an eye on the two of you so that you don't try to make it easier on yourself somehow," Mimura said. He eyed the two girls. "And I see we've got a _very _lovely audience, too."

Nakagawa flushed, though she looked more uncomfortable than pleased. Chigusa pinned him with an icy stare and Mimura turned back to Shuuya and Nobu.

"So. Get to it."

"Go!" Seto said, and within the first ten seconds Nobu's arms started shaking. Shuuya was solid, hands spread as far as they would go and arms bent a little at the elbow. He was wavering, tipping back and forth a little.

He winked at Nobu and fell over, and Nobu managed to hide his surprise in his own collapse. "I guess I owe you ice cream then, huh?" Shuuya said. He winked again, and Nobu grinned a little. Shuuya letting him win or not, now Nobu would get that ice cream, _and _he'd looked good in front of Nakagawa.

"Mr. Nobu wins!" Seto cheered, pumping one fist into the air.

"You're a noble man, Nanahara," Mimura said. He hadn't missed it either. Then again, Nobu didn't know who could have. Shuuya was about as subtle as a brick to the face. "A noble man."

_A noble man, maybe, but also the best friend anyone could ever ask for, _Nobu thought. His grin widened.

"Congratulations," Nakagawa said at his elbow and he turned around faster than he'd ever thought that he could.

"Yeah, thanks!" Nobu said, feeling his face flood with heat. He thanked Hiroki Sugimura and Shuuya Nanahara with every bone in his body. "Do you want to come get ice cream with us? Shuuya owes me one now, so I could buy yours!"

"Okay," she said, smiling, and Nobu thought that he was quite possibly the happiest person in the world. With a best friend like Shuuya, and a crush like Nakagawa, everything was bound to turn out perfectly.

* * *

**This was requested by a user on Tumblr, who wanted lighthearted/slice-of-life Nobu!**


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